Merrill Braddon

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How Time Planning Training Is Useless in Poorly-Run Organizations

 

Quit Teaching People to "Prioritize" When Your Business Has Absolutely No Idea What Actually Matters: How Time Planning Training Fails in Dysfunctional Organizations

 

 

I'm ready to dismantle one of the biggest popular misconceptions in workplace training: the assumption that showing employees more effective "time organization" techniques will solve productivity issues in organizations that have absolutely no consistent strategic focus themselves.

 

 

Following extensive experience of training with organizations on productivity issues, I can tell you that time planning training in a poorly-run company is like instructing someone to sort their belongings while their home is literally burning down around them.

 

 

Here's the core reality: the majority of organizations suffering from productivity problems cannot have efficiency challenges - they have organizational problems.

 

 

Standard task planning training believes that workplaces have consistent, unchanging goals that workers can be taught to identify and concentrate toward. Such assumption is entirely disconnected from reality in most contemporary organizations.

 

 

We consulted with a major advertising firm where workers were continuously expressing frustration about being "struggling to prioritize their work effectively." Leadership had spent hundreds of thousands on task management training for each workers.

 

 

This training covered all the typical techniques: priority matrices, ABC categorization systems, calendar management strategies, and detailed project organization software.

 

 

But efficiency remained to decline, worker stress instances rose, and project completion results turned longer, not better.

 

 

After I investigated what was actually going on, I discovered the actual problem: the organization at the leadership level had absolutely no clear strategic focus.

 

 

Let me share what the normal reality looked like for workers:

 

 

Regularly: Executive executives would announce that Client A was the "most critical focus" and everyone must to work on it right away

 

 

24 hours later: A separate top leader would announce an "urgent" message stating that Client B was now the "top essential" focus

 

 

Day three: A third team head would schedule an "emergency" meeting to announce that Client C was a "critical" deliverable that had to be completed by Friday

 

 

Day four: The original executive manager would express disappointment that Project A had not progressed enough and require to know why employees weren't "prioritizing" it properly

 

 

By week's end: Every three initiatives would be behind, several deadlines would be missed, and workers would be blamed for "inadequate priority planning skills"

 

 

That scenario was happening continuously after week, regularly after month. Zero degree of "time organization" training was able to assist employees navigate this systemic insanity.

 

 

Their core problem wasn't that workers didn't learn how to prioritize - it was that the agency at every level was completely incapable of establishing consistent priorities for more than 24 hours at a time.

 

 

The team convinced management to eliminate their focus on "employee priority management" training and rather create what I call "Leadership Direction Systems."

 

 

Rather than attempting to show staff to organize within a chaotic environment, we concentrated on creating real company priorities:

 

 

Established a single executive leadership team with defined responsibility for setting and enforcing organizational focus

 

 

Established a systematic project review procedure that took place monthly rather than constantly

 

 

Developed clear guidelines for when projects could be adjusted and what type of authorization was required for such adjustments

 

 

Implemented mandatory coordination procedures to make certain that any priority modifications were announced clearly and to everyone across every teams

 

 

Implemented buffer periods where no focus modifications were permitted without emergency approval

 

 

The transformation was remarkable and outstanding:

 

 

Employee stress levels fell significantly as staff finally were clear about what they were expected to be focusing on

 

 

Efficiency rose by over significantly within a month and a half as workers could genuinely focus on finishing work rather than repeatedly redirecting between conflicting requests

 

 

Client quality schedules decreased substantially as departments could plan and deliver projects without constant interruptions and redirection

 

 

External relationships got better significantly as work were genuinely finished according to schedule and to standards

 

 

That lesson: prior to you show employees to organize, ensure your company actually maintains clear priorities that are suitable for working toward.

 

 

Here's another method that time organization training fails in dysfunctional companies: by believing that employees have genuine authority over their time and tasks.

 

 

The team consulted with a government agency where workers were repeatedly getting criticized for "inadequate priority organization" and mandated to "efficiency" training workshops.

 

 

Their reality was that these employees had essentially zero influence over their daily activities. Here's what their normal workday seemed like:

 

 

Roughly the majority of their schedule was consumed by required conferences that they couldn't decline, irrespective of whether these conferences were relevant to their core responsibilities

 

 

An additional significant portion of their workday was allocated to completing mandatory reports and bureaucratic obligations that contributed no benefit to their real job or to the clients they were intended to serve

 

 

Their leftover one-fifth of their schedule was meant to be allocated for their real responsibilities - the tasks they were hired to do and that genuinely was important to the public

 

 

Additionally even this limited fraction of availability was continuously interrupted by "emergency" requests, unexpected conferences, and administrative requirements that had no option to be postponed

 

 

Given these circumstances, no degree of "task management" training was going to assist these workers become more productive. The issue wasn't their employee time planning techniques - it was an institutional system that rendered meaningful activity almost unattainable.

 

 

We helped them establish structural improvements to fix the actual impediments to effectiveness:

 

 

Got rid of redundant meetings and created clear standards for when conferences were actually required

 

 

Simplified administrative obligations and removed unnecessary documentation procedures

 

 

Created protected periods for core job tasks that were not allowed to be disrupted by administrative tasks

 

 

Established specific systems for evaluating what constituted a legitimate "urgent situation" versus routine requests that could be planned for appropriate periods

 

 

Established workload sharing approaches to ensure that work was shared equitably and that no single person was overwhelmed with impossible demands

 

 

Employee efficiency improved dramatically, professional fulfillment improved considerably, and this department genuinely commenced delivering better services to the citizens they were meant to serve.

 

 

That important point: you can't fix productivity challenges by teaching employees to function better productively within chaotic organizations. Companies have to improve the organizations initially.

 

 

At this point let's examine possibly the greatest ridiculous element of priority planning training in poorly-run organizations: the idea that staff can mysteriously manage responsibilities when the management at leadership level modifies its priorities numerous times per month.

 

 

I worked with a IT company where the founder was famous for experiencing "innovative" revelations multiple times per day and expecting the entire company to right away redirect to accommodate each new direction.

 

 

Employees would arrive at work on any given day with a specific understanding of their tasks for the period, only to find that the CEO had concluded over the weekend that everything they had been working on was no longer important and that they should to instantly begin concentrating on a project entirely new.

 

 

This behavior would happen multiple times per month. Initiatives that had been stated as "essential" would be abandoned halfway through, departments would be continuously redirected to different projects, and significant amounts of resources and investment would be squandered on initiatives that were never finished.

 

 

The organization had poured heavily in "adaptive work planning" training and complex priority management tools to help workers "adjust quickly" to evolving directions.

 

 

However zero amount of training or software could address the fundamental challenge: organizations won't be able to efficiently manage perpetually changing objectives. Perpetual shifting is the enemy of effective planning.

 

 

We worked with them create what I call "Focused Priority Stability":

 

 

Implemented scheduled planning assessment sessions where significant strategy changes could be discussed and approved

 

 

Created firm standards for what qualified as a valid justification for changing established directions apart from the scheduled assessment cycles

 

 

Established a "direction protection" phase where zero changes to current objectives were permitted without extraordinary justification

 

 

Established defined coordination systems for when objective adjustments were really necessary, including complete consequence analyses of what work would be interrupted

 

 

Mandated documented sign-off from senior stakeholders before any significant strategy shifts could be approved

 

 

Their improvement was dramatic. After a quarter, measurable project delivery percentages rose by more than 300%. Worker stress rates fell considerably as staff could finally concentrate on completing projects rather than continuously initiating new ones.

 

 

Innovation actually improved because departments had adequate time to fully explore and refine their solutions rather than constantly changing to new directions before anything could be properly completed.

 

 

This reality: successful prioritization demands priorities that stay unchanged long enough for people to really work on them and achieve significant progress.

 

 

Here's what I've learned after years in this industry: task management training is exclusively effective in organizations that currently have their leadership systems together.

 

 

Once your organization has stable business priorities, realistic expectations, functional decision-making, and structures that support rather than obstruct efficient work, then priority management training can be helpful.

 

 

Yet if your workplace is defined by perpetual chaos, conflicting priorities, inadequate planning, impossible demands, and reactive decision-making cultures, then priority organization training is more harmful than useless - it's actively destructive because it blames individual behavior for leadership incompetence.

 

 

Stop squandering money on priority planning training until you've resolved your leadership direction before anything else.

 

 

Focus on establishing companies with clear business direction, functional leadership, and structures that genuinely support efficient activity.

 

 

Your staff would manage tasks extremely effectively once you offer them direction worth working toward and an organization that really enables them in doing their jobs. overwhelmed with impossible responsibilities

 

 

Worker effectiveness increased substantially, work fulfillment got better notably, and this department genuinely started offering improved outcomes to the citizens they were supposed to help.

 

 

That key lesson: organizations cannot address time management problems by teaching employees to function more productively within broken systems. You have to repair the systems initially.

 

 

Currently let's address perhaps the most ridiculous element of task management training in chaotic companies: the assumption that staff can mysteriously prioritize work when the management at leadership level shifts its direction numerous times per day.

 

 

I worked with a IT business where the CEO was notorious for going through "brilliant" revelations several times per period and expecting the whole team to right away shift to implement each new idea.

 

 

Staff would come at the office on regularly with a clear understanding of their priorities for the week, only to discover that the management had determined overnight that all priorities they had been concentrating on was suddenly not important and that they needed to right away commence focusing on a project completely different.

 

 

Such behavior would occur multiple times per period. Projects that had been announced as "highest priority" would be abandoned halfway through, groups would be repeatedly re-assigned to different projects, and massive amounts of effort and investment would be lost on projects that were never completed.

 

 

The organization had spent significantly in "agile task management" training and advanced project tracking software to enable staff "adjust efficiently" to evolving priorities.

 

 

Yet zero amount of education or software could solve the basic challenge: organizations won't be able to efficiently manage perpetually shifting directions. Continuous shifting is the enemy of effective planning.

 

 

We helped them establish what I call "Strategic Direction Stability":

 

 

Created quarterly priority review periods where significant direction adjustments could be considered and approved

 

 

Developed clear criteria for what qualified as a legitimate justification for modifying established objectives apart from the scheduled planning cycles

 

 

Established a "objective protection" period where absolutely no adjustments to current objectives were permitted without extraordinary approval

 

 

Established specific notification systems for when direction modifications were genuinely required, with full impact evaluations of what work would be interrupted

 

 

Required formal sign-off from several leaders before any major strategy modifications could be implemented

 

 

The change was remarkable. After three months, actual project delivery rates increased by nearly dramatically. Employee frustration instances fell substantially as staff could finally work on completing tasks rather than repeatedly initiating new ones.

 

 

Innovation remarkably improved because departments had sufficient opportunity to fully implement and refine their concepts rather than repeatedly switching to new initiatives before any project could be adequately completed.

 

 

That lesson: effective planning requires objectives that keep consistent long enough for employees to actually focus on them and accomplish significant outcomes.

 

 

Here's what I've discovered after decades in this business: task planning training is exclusively valuable in companies that currently have their leadership systems working properly.

 

 

If your organization has consistent strategic priorities, achievable workloads, functional decision-making, and processes that facilitate rather than obstruct productive work, then time management training can be beneficial.

 

 

Yet if your organization is defined by perpetual chaos, unclear priorities, incompetent planning, impossible demands, and emergency decision-making cultures, then task organization training is more harmful than pointless - it's systematically destructive because it faults individual performance for leadership failures.

 

 

End wasting time on time organization training until you've fixed your leadership dysfunction before anything else.

 

 

Focus on establishing workplaces with consistent organizational direction, functional management, and structures that actually facilitate productive activity.

 

 

Company workers can organize perfectly effectively once you provide them direction worth working toward and an workplace that genuinely facilitates them in doing their jobs.

 

 

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